***OFFICIAL VP DEBATE THREAD***

[BigRedChief]

A little early but I was just sitting in the park this afternoon when a small group of runner's came by me and it was Ryan running along the waters edge. They were running a pretty damn good clip. A quick pace for a jog that's for sure.

WTF is he doing his debate prep in St. Pete?

On Saturday night Romney held a big rally about 1/2 mile from my house and right across from where Ryan was running.

[stonedstooge]

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

http://www.politico.com/news/stories...qm4yc8.twitter

But but but alnorth says that doesn't matter!!!!!!!!

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by patteeu

Biden's antics didn't bother me with the exception of one stretch late in the debate where he was interrupting almost every sentence Ryan uttered. Overall, I might have given a slight edge to Biden if it hadn't been for Ryan's dominating closing sequence (both his last answer and his closing statement). As far as I'm concerned, it was close enough to a draw that there's not much point in saying one guy was the winner.

Heck, the thing I liked least about Ryan's performance tonight was his closing statement, that was overly memorized, dry, and primed for a 2 A.M. infomercial. (I may be a harsh judge, I debated for four years in high school.)

I agree with your conclusion, however, for all intents and purposes, this one was a tie.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

Well there are a couple of things that jump out at me with your statement: 1) your wife has lived with you her whole life?
2)I don't know you so how can I take your word for it?



On the way Biden carried himself: First Obama seemed weak in the first debate, almost bullied, and took flack for it. Do you feel Biden appeared weak or disinterested? I did not.

LOL....she has been with me all of her MARRIED life. Sorry a Romney/Biden moment.

Not many people here truly know me...so I guess you have a point.

As for your second paragraph....Obama was weak and had no real answers. Romney wasn't rude and belligerent to Obama in the same manner that Biden was to Ryan. Too many times he never let Ryan finish his point, which made him look rude and condescending. That turns people off....

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

almost bullied,

Looking stupid & looking at your 1000 dollar shoes all night = being bullied

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

Kind of how I felt.

Women didn't like it, and Romney already has the men...

Good thing we're expecting a record high turnout in transexuals.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by stonedstooge

But but but alnorth says that doesn't matter!!!!!!!!

Oh, quit your whining and crying, your boy is going down.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by patteeu

I agree with AustinChief that the format for the first debate was superior and that Lehrer did a fine job. I liked the way the candidates challenged each other and had the opportunity to respond to those challenges better than the way Martha Raddatz essentially interviewed the two men and limited their ability to challenge and rebut each other.

Lehrer was pathetic.

The ONLY reason to like Lehrer is fond memories that Romney kicked Obama's ass while Lehrer rambled on unnoticed, THATS IT. Lehrer was freaking irrelevant as a moderator, liking him is similar to having fond memories of the breakfast you ate that morning as a Romney supporter because Lehrer was utterly irrelevant in the debate.

The only thing Lehrer did, was basically say "ok, on your mark, get set.... go" then nothing. Utterly, completely nothing for 90 full minutes. Lehrer was utterly, pathetically, sadly, WORTHLESS.

Lehrer completely failed as a moderator in that he allowed both candidates to give bland no-detail no-substance speeches that were meant to be everything to everyone. If you were a low-information voter with little interest in politics I guess it might have been interesting, but for anyone who actually pays attention to debates that first debate was a total abortion.

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Lehrer was pathetic.

The ONLY reason to like Lehrer is fond memories that Romney kicked Obama's ass while Lehrer rambled on unnoticed, THATS IT. Lehrer was freaking irrelevant as a moderator, liking him is similar to having fond memories of the breakfast you ate that morning as a Romney supporter because Lehrer was utterly irrelevant in the debate.

The only thing Lehrer did, was basically say "ok, on your mark, get set.... go" then nothing. Utterly, completely nothing for 90 full minutes. Lehrer was utterly, pathetically, sadly, WORTHLESS.

Lehrer completely failed as a moderator in that he allowed both candidates to give bland no-detail no-substance speeches that were meant to be everything to everyone. If you were a low-information voter with little interest in politics I guess it might have been interesting, but for anyone who actually pays attention to debates that first debate was a total abortion.

Except that I would wager I have as much if not more debate experience than anyone on this board and you are just plain wrong.

What you are basically saying is that you liked the replacement refs. You like it when the game is decided by a third party and not the people involved. You don't like it when the "referee" stays out of the way as much as possible and let's the players play. I'm sure that is fine in WWE or other fake entertainment sports, but in politics just like in the NFL, it is a distraction.

Lehrer maintained control, kept things on topic and WAS NEARLY INVISIBLE... which is what a moderator SHOULD BE.

I get it.. you want the ref to rip off his shirt and throw a chair in the ring.. that's fine...that's fun and entertaining, but it's not constructive.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Lehrer was pathetic.

The ONLY reason to like Lehrer is fond memories that Romney kicked Obama's ass while Lehrer rambled on unnoticed, THATS IT. Lehrer was freaking irrelevant as a moderator, liking him is similar to having fond memories of the breakfast you ate that morning as a Romney supporter because Lehrer was utterly irrelevant in the debate.

The only thing Lehrer did, was basically say "ok, on your mark, get set.... go" then nothing. Utterly, completely nothing for 90 full minutes. Lehrer was utterly, pathetically, sadly, WORTHLESS.

Lehrer completely failed as a moderator in that he allowed both candidates to give bland no-detail no-substance speeches that were meant to be everything to everyone. If you were a low-information voter with little interest in politics I guess it might have been interesting, but for anyone who actually pays attention to debates that first debate was a total abortion.

No, sorry, you're wrong. It has nothing to do with Romney smoking your guy. The reason to like what Lehrer did is that he didn't feel an overwhelming urge to make himself a part of the show. He let both men have their run. That might not have worked if either of the men were trying to bully the other by interrupting (neither really did) or by filibustering (Obama got long-winded a time or two, but he was quick to wrap things up with only slight prompting from Lehrer so again Lehrer didn't need to become too intrusive).

Lehrer's passive technique wouldn't have worked so well tonight because of Biden's aggressive approach, but I doubt that Lehrer would have been as passive if he'd been handling tonight's debate. I thought Raddatz was a little too aggressive in cutting both men off tonight, but she wasn't terrible. I didn't like the dual interview format tonight as much as the more topic oriented back-and-forth of the first POTUS debate either.

BTW, I'd much rather have the candidates force each other to provide substance and specifics than the moderator. If the moderator does it, it inevitably introduces the biases of the moderator no matter how even handed he/she tries to be (much like what fact-checking has become).

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by AustinChief

Except that I would wager I have as much if not more debate experience than anyone on this board and you are just plain wrong.

What you are basically saying is that you liked the replacement refs. You like it when the game is decided by a third party and not the people involved. You don't like it when the "referee" stays out of the way as much as possible and let's the players play. I'm sure that is fine in WWE or other fake entertainment sports, but in politics just like in the NFL, it is a distraction.

Lehrer maintained control, kept things on topic and WAS NEARLY INVISIBLE... which is what a moderator SHOULD BE.

I get it.. you want the ref to rip off his shirt and throw a chair in the ring.. that's fine...that's fun and entertaining, but it's not constructive.

Hear, hear.

[Direckshun]

The primary reason Lehrer was terrible was because it was an unorganized cluster****.

This debate was snapped down and controlled pretty well by Raddatz last night. To say nothing of the fact that alnorth is correct when he says Lehrer's tactic was to pretty much just sound off a starting gun. Raddatz asked genuinely fascinating questions.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

The primary reason Lehrer was terrible was because it was an unorganized cluster****.

This debate was snapped down and controlled pretty well by Raddatz last night. To say nothing of the fact that alnorth is correct when he says Lehrer's tactic was to pretty much just sound off a starting gun. Raddatz asked genuinely fascinating questions.

You know how I can tell that you're still hurting from Romney's beatdown of your guy?

Everything you said above is wrong.

[R8ers]

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

The primary reason Lehrer was terrible was because it was an unorganized cluster****.

This debate was snapped down and controlled pretty well by Raddatz last night. To say nothing of the fact that alnorth is correct when he says Lehrer's tactic was to pretty much just sound off a starting gun. Raddatz asked genuinely fascinating questions.

Yes, the abortion question was particularly fascinating and topical. I'm glad she asked that instead of about the troops being sent to Jordan.

[Saul Good]

If Raddatz was so much better than Lehrer, why was Biden stepping all over Ryan (the count I saw showed over 80 interruptions by Biden) in this debate?